Contemplate, Accommodate, and Differentiate

As you cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin Country from San Francisco, and continue driving north on Highway 101, passing through the Robin Williams tunnel, controversially renamed in the late actor and comedian’s honor shortly after the Bay Area native’s death, your view will be filled with Mount Tamalpais, affectionately known as Mt. Tam for short. At the base of that mountain sits Mill Valley, a quaint town that, according to the 2010 US Census, boasts a population of 13,903 people, 13% of which are school-aged children under the age of 18.

Park Elementary School is one of five elementary schools in the Mill Valley School District, which also includes Mill Valley Middle School. Located across the street from a neighborhood park and only a few blocks from downtown Mill Valley’s depot square, the school is a 108-year institution that serves 332 students spanning from Pre-K to Fifth Grade, according to the California Department of Education.

While Park School’s population includes only 0.6% English Language Learners (the entire district’s population has only 2.6% English Language Learners), pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all schools in the district allow children who qualify for special education the opportunity to learn in the "least restrictive environment" possible. In other words, as the statute mandates, special education students should spend as much time as possible with peers who do not receive special education. This concept is also known as "mainstreaming."

On numerous occasions, I have had the pleasure of visiting a handful of general education classes at Park School, in which at least one of the students was considered special education. While these teachers managed a room of 20 students on average, they were able to successfully accommodate their student(s) with special needs and differentiate instruction for all kinds of learners.

One general education class in particular included a first grade student on the Autism spectrum. While her diagnosis as Autistic had been medically corroborated, school personnel were in the process of creating an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to support her needs, leaving the teacher left to her own creativity. An IEP explains the current academic or medical challenges that qualify a student as special education, and dictates how the student’s educational experience should unfold, including what special education and related services they will be provided, what accommodations and modifications a teacher, aid, or resource specialist should make to set the child up for success, and how the student will be expected to participate with general education peers and in state and district-wide tests.

When I entered the classroom, it was not immediately clear which student was the child in question. She presented no differently than any other student in the room, focusing her free choice time on drawing on her whiteboard at her desk. But as the class progressed, it became more apparent that this student’s interactions with others and her responses to classroom situations were more labored and robust than the other students. While on the carpet for whole-group instruction, this student sat in a cushioned floor chair rather than directly on the rug like the other students. She was allowed to spread out her body, as long as she respected the personal space of others, and she was not required to answer questions posed to the whole group. When students were asked to turn and talk to their neighbors, either the teacher or myself joined in her pair and prompted her responses, while reminding her to show her partner respect through "whole-body listening," a concept that resonated strongly for this student. She was especially motivated by the class marble jar incentive program, in which the class can earn marbles for positive behavior, resulting in a party when the jar is full. When asked to do something, a gentle reminder that she could earn a marble if she participated in some way, was a helpful tool in promoting her learning. She was also allowed to "take a break" and read on the bean bag chairs in the back of the room when she felt it necessary.

​The way a teacher differentiates and modifies instruction for a child with special needs varies depending on the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses, and therefore, it is incredibly important to know your students on a deeper level. In this case, providing the student with emotional and behavioral support and modified means of completing assignments allowed to student to succeed within the bounds of her capabilities. The teacher’s careful contemplation of the student’s needs and her willingness to accommodate and differentiate instruction for this student offered the child a safe environment in which to be herself. When the student felt comfortable, she was much more willing to participate and interact with others.